Revelstoke-based RCMP say that the collision that closed the Trans-Canada Highway for 10 hours on Thursday, Mar. 24, followed a police chase.
Revelstoke-based Trans-Canada East Traffic services spokesperson, Cpl. Pauze, said that RCMP from Sicamous and Revelstoke were involved with the pursuit of an eastbound vehicle.
Pauze said the man driving the vehicle was wanted due to “unrelated” warrants.
The pursuit was initiated by RCMP from Sicamous at a point about 10–15 kilometres west of Revelstoke on the Trans-Canada Highway and headed eastbound through Revelstoke and continued east on the Trans-Canada Highway towards Golden, B.C.
Pauze said that police pursued the vehicle to a point about five kilometres east of Revelstoke, where RCMP “terminated the pursuit” due to “erratic” driving from the fleeing vehicle.
The fleeing vehicle continued eastbound to an area where cars were backed up due to a highway closure for avalanche control. Pauze said the highway had re-opened after the avalanche closure, but traffic was still backlogged on the highway. The collision occurred about 50 kilometres east of Revelstoke, Pauze said.
The vehicle passed some of the stopped vehicles, but eventually crashed into some vehicles and came to a halt. Pauze said early indications are the vehicles were stopped at the time.
Police then later arrived after being called to the scene of the collision, Pauze said.
The collision involved four vehicles, including the fleeing vehicle.
There were no serious injuries in the crash, but a passenger in the fleeing vehicle was transported to hospital for medical treatment.
The RCMP are still investigating the incident, including collecting witness statements, and expect to file multiple charges against the driver.
DriveBC first announced the closure due to the incident at just after 3 p.m. on Mar. 24. The highway reopened about 10 hours later at around 1 a.m. The highway had previously been closed at 12:30 p.m. for avalanche control work.
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